out of sync.
"According to Justin, the whole reason for the breakup of *NSYNC was everyone else's fault? That was crazy! All of us had done nothing but wait around for him to feel he was ready to start work on a new *NSYNC album."
- Lance Bass, Out of Sync
A friend of mine picked up Lance Bass' memoir, "Out of Sync" when he was doing a signing at Books Inc. in the Castro. While there, he also managed to pick up an autographed copy for me as well. Naturally, any piece of *NSYNC-related memorabilia means the world to me, and this autographed book joins its brother, an autographed piece of paper that a friend of mine got Joey Fatone to sign in a Walgreens. Now, if only I could find that piece ...
I started to read this book, for certain that I would get to read some of the deepest, darkest *NSYNC secrets imaginable, ala New Kids On the Block's "Behind the Music" episode. I suppose I got a little of that, since Lance mentions their love of the attention, having a little bit of fun, and Lance trying to get some on the DL. But a lot of it, for some reason I don't understand, didn't resonate well with me.
My attention veered off when the book wasn't talking about *NSYNC, and I believe that's really my fault. But then again, a book with a title like "Out of Sync" would definitely cause my mind to go a million miles a minute, as anything that is merely reminiscent of *NSYNC would make my heart pound faster. But, I also forgot that this is a memoir --- Lance's memoir --- so his whole life before being super famous had me wanting the *NSYNC part to come faster. It's a memoir, though ... it is what it is.
I do find a lot of the parts after he joined *NSYNC to be interesting, such as knowing that he was gay, the whole Lou Pearlman saga, Joey realizing he was gay, and also his love life that he constantly struggled to keep quiet at the height of *NSYNC domination. There's something noble about trying to not hurt the image/careers of your friends while you quietly suffer behind the scenes. I think that his memoir does a good job of recalling those conflicts, and it does a great job of showing that it's always best to be who you are and not what others expect you to be.
My biggest regret from reading this book is reading the chapter in which the fall of *NSYNC begins. It's nothing that I would have ever wanted to read, and I wouldn't wish it on any other *NSYNC fan. It's not like a crazy, horrible breakup, but in a way it seems like Lance pins it all on Justin and his solo career. Though Lance recently stated
on "The View" that he didn't just blame Justin, he blamed management, members of the group ... basically everyone, even himself. He even states this in the book.But I am glad to know that Lance feels that there is a brotherhood upon him and the rest of them that can never be broken. He would like to get back together someday, and hell, I'd like that too. But like all good things, nothing lasts forever. You look at some of the greatest bands of all time, and none have had smooth sailing all the time. It's rare that they'd stay together forever, but if they broke up, they'd all still manage to find their way back home.
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Random *NSYNC thoughts/facts:
- *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" remains the top selling album in one day with over one million, 2.4 million in a week.
- *NSYNC isn't some stupid, lame name, but it's also the last letter of each of the guys' names put together. Except Lance, who replaced some dude name Jason. For the same of the name, Lance tried unsuccessfully to go by the nickname Lancesten. Something lame (!) like that.
- Speaking of "No Strings Attached," Britney Spears' "Blackout" CD has the same exact look. Seriously.
- Though now I'm a huge, huge, HUGE Justin fan (more than I was when he was in *NSYNC), JC was, and always was the best singer. Period.
- JC is also my favorite member. Because everyone has one.
- Joey Fatone's big thing while in *NSYNC was that he liked Superman. I wonder if that's still true.
- Chris had these really, really, really ugly braids when they first got big in the US. And I mean like, FUG. When he cut them off, it was like night and day.
- I can't really tell when their last performance as a group was (Lance names a couple in his book), but I believe their performance at the 2003 Grammy Awards during a tribute to the Bee Gees was. I still watch it on YouTube. And I cry. Sad.
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Videos of note:
In this video, *NSYNC performs their Spanish version of "This I Promise You" - "Yo Te Voy Amar." Also in this video: JC outsings Justin.
Britney Spears and *NSYNC make their respective debuts on the MTV Video Music Awards. Britney appears fresh from the tanning booth, while *NSYNC stomps on desks. Also: JC gets to sing lead while Justin's lead part doesn't even get to see the light of day.
The Grammy Awards, where they pretty much perform for the last time. In this video: JC decides to make me cry by growing his hair out into a greasy mop. Boo on the haircut. Boo on it being the last performance. Ever.
Buy, buy buy it: Amazon
Visit: Lance Bass (mySpace)
Pictures from: Rolling Stone, NsyncGuide.
posted by caroline @ 3:15 PM
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